Charles Flanagan
Ceist:4 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Health the total savings in his Department to date in respect of indicative drug budgeting through general practice units in the State.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Indicative Drug Budgeting.
Patrick D. Harte
Ceist:23 Mr. Harte asked the Minister for Health the level of saving made since January 1993, on the indicative drug budgeting policy.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 23 together.
Increases in real terms in annual expenditure in respect of drugs and medicines under the GMS scheme for the years 1989 to 1992 have been in the order of 10 per cent to 13 per cent per annum. A continuation of these trends into the current year would have resulted in an increase in GMS drugs expenditure of about £15 million.
The introduction of the indicative drug targets this year, allied to the new support structures which have been put in place, has brought about a significant reduction in the previous trend increases. In the first nine months of this year overall drugs expenditure increased by about £4.4 million, or 4.44 per cent on the corresponding period last year. A further improvement in the position is expected as the general practice units become fully operational.
I thank the Minister for his reply and I welcome the overall trend in this regard, but there is a number of matters about which I am seriously concerned and I now seek the aid of the Minister in dispelling that concern. On the question of confidentiality, will the Minister confirm that there is an element of confidentiality with regard to prescribing under the GP units and that the privacy of the relationship between the doctor and patient will be respected? With particular reference to a case within a health board, where perhaps a patient may have a disabled person's maintenance allowance under appeal, will there be access through the GP unit to the patient's file now that we have, for the first time in the State, departed from the individual GMS patient/doctor confidentiality? The Minister has been short on information on how best the confidential relationship between doctor and patient can be preserved.
Both I and the House desire to dispose of our remaining Priority Question No. 5.
I assure the Deputy and the House that there will be no trespassing on confidentiality and the doctor/patient relationship will be absolutely preserved. There will be no question of any individual knowledge of the prescribing patterns of an individual doctor to a patient. The GP unit is composed of doctors to give general prescribing help to doctors so that we can have the best practice, but it will preserve the confidentiality of the doctor/patient relationship.
A brief supplementary——
Sorry, Deputy Flanagan. I will hear a reply to Question No. 5 if it is responded to now.